Many of the judges are invited professionals and are assigned categories by East Africa Brand Quality Awards staff, based on their industry, function, and experience.

Entries will be judged over two months, from September to October, by committees focused on the main category groups. Each committee will have 10-30 members. Judges will be both volunteers and invitees. Judges’ average scores will determine the Award winners. Every category in which there is at least one nomination with a final average score of at least 7.25 out of a possible 10 will have a Platinum Award winner. Otherwise, the nomination with the highest average score in a category will win the Platinum Award trophy in that category. Every other nomination in the category with an average of at least 8.0 will win a Gold Award medal. Other nominations with an average score of at least 7.25 will win Silver Award medals.

During judging, each entry is reviewed and rated by no fewer than five (5) judges. All entries are viewed and rated at the judges’ convenience over the Internet. Rating is done on a scale of 1-10.

All judges’ comments on entries will be available in entrants’ entry-submission accounts when Award winners are announced.

The accuracy of claims made in winning entries may be audited, and any entry found to contain false or misleading information will be disqualified. Platinum-winning entries will be published on the website. Winners will have the opportunity to redact any confidential or non-public information from their entries before publication.

Judging Criteria

Built on the principles of integrity, equality, and inclusivity, the East Africa Brand Quality Awards judging process is rigorous and transparent. Our diverse panel of expert judges works diligently to ensure that Award winners are small and medium-sized businesses truly contributing to East Africa’s economic, social, and cultural prosperity.

What Judges Are Looking For:

BUSINESS SUCCESS

To determine a business’s overall success, judges for all categories will use the following criteria:

  • Economic sustainability
    • Makes sound financial decisions and manages cash flow effectively
    • Is profitable over time and can clearly articulate potential profits
    • Sustains goals and purpose and outlines potential future impact
    • Has proven examples of achieving mission-critical goals and objectives
    • Considers competitor behaviors and how to counteract them
    • Has examples of how they’ve found better ways to reach new markets
    • Exceeds customer expectations and delivers brilliant experiences
  • Operational effectiveness and technology adoption
    • Harnesses technology in innovative ways to move the business forward
    • Changes course with agility to adapt to market changes
    • Has developed new internal processes, production, or services to operate more effectively
    • Takes a creative approach to solving customer problems
    • Tenaciously pushes the boundaries to maintain success
  • Progressive leadership and culture
    • Has a visionary, future-facing business strategy
    • Takes a courageous approach to risk, and adapts when necessary
    • Fosters internal team culture by celebrating innovation, collaboration, and diversity
    • Invests in employee development and growth
    • Is committed to reducing bias of any kind and approaches hiring accordingly
    • Proactively engages with diverse groups to understand different perspectives and apply them to their business
    • Approaches customer feedback as an asset and uses it to enhance the business
  • Social and community contribution
    • Purposefully contributes to the wellbeing of the communities they serve or society in general
    • Promotes the importance of social impact internally and demonstrates this externally
    • Provides or contributes measurable value to their communities or society at large
    • Behaves and operates in a transparent and ethical manner

POSITIVE IMPACT IN THE CHOSEN CATEGORY

  • Positive and sustainable impact
    • Is proactively finding solutions for a prevalent problem, gap, or need
    • Understands the overall significance of their service, product, solution, or contribution
    • Has a plan for how to achieve their vision in creating change or progress
    • Can produce measurable evidence of how they’ve contributed to a key issue within their chosen category
    • Creates a visible difference, provides value, or delivers a marked effect on people, communities, or industries
    • Has created a legacy of positive impact that is sustained and will stand the test of time
    • Possesses the scalability and growth potential to increase their impact or contribution
  • Thought leadership and innovation
    • Takes an innovative approach to forge new paths and create progress for the category
    • Uses creative and strategic thinking to solve problems and overcome barriers for their chosen challenge
    • Challenges the status quo by celebrating and fostering fresh thinking in a way that demonstrably inspires others
  • Commitment and perseverance
    • Purposefully seeks to motivate, create, and affect positive change or progress
    • Shows passion and courage in achieving their current and future goals
    • Tenaciously approaches and overcomes any challenge